Sam Oliver
The Obama administration announced on Friday that Apple is one of a number of U.S. corporations — including Coca-Cola and IBM — that have agreed to pay smaller component suppliers more quickly in an effort to increase cash flow throughout the supply chain.
Dubbed "SupplierPay," the new program is a private-sector extension of QuickPay, a federal initiative designed to ensure that small contractors are paid within 15 days of submitting an invoice. This enhanced cash flow helps small businesses avoid the need to borrow money, the government says, increasing their chances to prosper.
"For the larger companies, joining SupplierPay demonstrates a recognition that a healthy supply chain is good for business," the White House said in a release. "For the small business suppliers, benefiting from SupplierPay means having more capital to invest in new opportunities, new equipment, and new hiring."
According to the White House, companies often take as long as two months to pay their suppliers. This restricts the smaller firms' ability to make capital investments or even pay subcontractors without accessing credit, where debt service obligations can make it yet more difficult to operate.
Apple has long been seen as an advocate for supply chain responsibility, releasing an annual report on the subject that details its efforts to enforce its Supplier Code of Conduct throughout its hundreds of contractors.
Though much of the company's attention is focused on issues like child labor and conflict minerals in developing nations, it has also worked to address labor problems at home. Apple's all-new Mac Pro is manufactured at a facility in Texas, for instance, not far from a Samsung-owned plant that fabricates A-series processors for iOS devices.
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99 Comments
Jack Tramiel would be screaming if he were still alive.
Glad to hear this piece of good news. On the other hand, companies like Amazon, not a small company, can take 90 days to pay. May guess, based on the way they have been behaving, is they would like to not pay at all.
Good lord. Apple needs to be a bit more aware that there is "not a lot of love left" for this president, this administration and anything to do with Washington right now. They need to not be so closely tied to an administration that has so many negatives associated with them. In addition, any perception that Apple is receiving "marching orders" from Washington is distasteful and will tarnish their image somewhat. Why even invite such associations?
Apple has always failed us in their unwavering devotion to mainstream politics. Nothing has changed under Tim Cook. FFS, Al Gore of all people is (still?) on the board. He should be in an institution.
[quote name="SpamSandwich" url="/t/181324/apple-joins-president-obamas-supplierpay-initiative-aimed-at-boosting-u-s-small-business#post_2562651"]Good lord. Apple needs to be a bit more aware that there is "not a lot of love left" for this president, this administration and anything to do with Washington right now. They need to not be so closely tied to an administration that has so many negatives associated with them. In addition, any perception that Apple is receiving "marching orders" from Washington is distasteful and will tarnish their image somewhat. Why even invite such associations?[/quote] This. Regardless of ones politics this gives the impression that when the government says "jump" Apple says "how high?". Is Apple a company known for not paying suppliers quickly enough? Why isn't Amazon at this meeting?